Hair straightening pill?

[BlackMasterPiece]

Naw son..I'm just gonna have to sit this one out.

I relax my hair and love getting my swang on as much as the next person, but this is doing too much.
Firstly, this is a pill that is messing with your DNA, and even with everything that is known about genetics in general, genetic engineering is still some seriously uncharted territory. I'm not trying to take a pill, thinking that I'm getting straight hair, and then wake up with a wee-wee instead (sorry if that offended anyone, it was just the worst thing I could think of besides death). It's not that serious to me. And if we're drawing examples from movies, then let me direct your attention to two of my favorites, Spiderman and The Hulk. The Green Goblin was messing with his DNA, look what happened to him. Same with Bruce Banner. I'm serious.

And then, the whole changing your baby's hair texture before he/she is born....what in the world? That is problematic on so many levels, and it's a slippery slope as well. It'll start with hair, and then it'll be eyes, then skin, then facial features and bone structure, then internal things like personality and athletic ability, and then you have a Gattaca-type situation on your hands. No bueno.
And, if that does happen, I'm kind of afraid of what will happen to black people. European features are most desirable in society, so if you have everyone making their babies look white....will black people become extinct? Or at least an endangered group?

Maybe I'm being catastrophic.
Whatever, no pill for me. That's all. If I want my hair straight, I'll just stick to relaxing and flat ironing.

Speak On It Chaos!! SPEAK on it!!

 

[exoticmommie]

I like my relaxed hair. It's not bone straight, but I don't think it's texlaxed either. And I wouldn't want it bone straight.

Anywho, I would never take the pill. That is some scary ish right there. I am thinking cancer, mutations, something.

 

[poookie]

Yea, this thread is just plain depressing.....we gotta do better people.....we gotta do better

We need to give the next generation an intensive comprehensive understanding and pride in their history and in themselves, the way god created them, if there is to be any hope for us going forward. Too many of us walking around with no real identity or true sense of self. (I never brought up relaxers btw)

she was just stating her personal opinion.
we may not agree with it, but no need for guilt trips

 

[lucea]

So to take a pill would mean that the new growth would come out straight. So, there would be a transitioning period. Also, if you stop taking the pill would the hair go back to curly? Or is this permanently changing DNA?

Anyways, the answer for me is HECK TO THE NAW!! Anything that involves internal genetic changes in the name of some HAIR is way too much.

Yeah, I couldn't figure out how that would work. I just made the poll so that the effects of the pill would be reversible - not sure that would be "technically" possible. I'm not even sure how close to being ready for the market something like this is. If it can change your hair texture, what else could it change, would have to marketed as a "drug" with FDA approval, etc..

 

[mbib0002]

I think she was saying, in other words: she likes straight hair on her because SHE feels it's a way of GROOMING.... I don't see any self hate in that mentality.

Frankly, I LOVE big hair, when it has been fluffed, combed or whatever to make it put-together; it looks VERY fierce and I give a lot of complements to people with well 'groomed' fros all the time.
However, don't roll up with a fro that has been slept-on on one side, looks super dry and then expect a complement; when I see such I just and keep it moving (this is just an example of what I consider as being 'groomed'.) No self-hate intended

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

she was just stating her personal opinion.
we may not agree with it, but no need for guilt trips

I think she was saying, in other words: she likes straight hair on her because SHE feels it's a way of GROOMING.... I don't see any self hate in that mentality.

Frankly, I LOVE big hair, when it has been fluffed, combed or whatever to make it put-together; it looks VERY fierce and I give a lot of complements to people with well 'groomed' fros all the time.
However, don't roll up with a fro that has been slept-on on one side, looks super dry and then expect a complement; when I see such I just and keep it moving (this is just an example of what I consider as being 'groomed'.) No self-hate intended

I feel you poookie & mbib0002 maybe I came off a bit brash.....I just really think its sad that so many sista's have such an inferiority compex about our hair, I guess I just funneled all the frustration into that one post ...

 

[Tafa01]

she was just stating her personal opinion.
we may not agree with it, but no need for guilt trips

No worries ...I do not feel guilty of anything lol.
I know my history as well as others here, and I don't see how anyone can deduct my supposed self hatred or ignorance from what I said?
Anyway, this not even about relaxers. I am just about CHOICE, and not judging others based on one's vision of the world.
All this is said respectfully on my part. And I totally agree to disagree, no problem at all.

 

[Foufie]

Personally I would not take this, HOWEVER most of us protest no because we don't see our hair as a problem (not to mention we have LHCF). But there are millions of other women who want to change their and they are not all black. I have quite a few other than black friends who hate their curly hair. IDK people determine, the sex of their baby, change their body, lightening their skin and yes our hair.....we just do that through other means. Personally, NAW I am good but I wouldn't talk about "sad" it is someone else wants this....JMHO

 

[outspokenwallflower]

Ooh, I'm scared to post any kind of opinion because of the fire burnin in this thread...

I will admit, I would be super curious. Yes, god gave me my super duper kinky 4b coarse hair...but I personally am not a fan of it. It is hard for me to personally manage and if I were natural, I'd wear my hair straight most if not ALL the time...I could cut down on time and costs by taking a pill, THAT IS, ASSUMING the pill is 100% SAFE, DOESN'T have any weird or ill side effects and can be reversible...hey, I'm not even desiring stick straight hair, but i'd *CONSIDER* taking it if it could loosen my texture to like a 3a/b/c...and that is just MY PREFERENCE.

I have NOTHING against natural kinky hair...I think it looks BEAUTIFUL on women who know how to do/manage their hair right; I just don't have the patience/time to keep up with it. Ya'll who disagree can bash me now, but it's not a matter of self hatred for what God gave me, I just don't have the desire to manage it. I'd love to be natural but I still reminisce about how hard/long it takes for me to manage my natural texture...shoot, I get so annoyed and crazy when my puffy roots start poppin up after a few weeks post.

 

[Tafa01]

Ooh, I'm scared to post any kind of opinion because of the fire burnin in this thread...

I will admit, I would be super curious. Yes, god gave me my super duper kinky 4b coarse hair...but I personally am not a fan of it. It is hard for me to personally manage and if I were natural, I'd wear my hair straight most if not ALL the time...I could cut down on time and costs by taking a pill, THAT IS, ASSUMING the pill is 100% SAFE, DOESN'T have any weird or ill side effects and can be reversible...hey, I'm not even desiring stick straight hair, but i'd *CONSIDER* taking it if it could loosen my texture to like a 3a/b/c...and that is just MY PREFERENCE.

I have NOTHING against natural kinky hair...I think it looks BEAUTIFUL on women who know how to do/manage their hair right; I just don't have the patience/time to keep up with it. Ya'll who disagree can bash me now, but it's not a matter of self hatred for what God gave me, I just don't have the desire to manage it. I'd love to be natural but I still reminisce about how hard/long it takes for me to manage my natural texture...shoot, I get so annoyed and crazy when my puffy roots start poppin up after a few weeks post.

I hear ya!! I have been relaxed, then natural for 2 years, then relaxed again, then natural again, and now i am relaxed again. Just too much work for me since I like my hair straight lol.

 

[lucea]

I didn't mean to stir up the old natural v. relaxed argument. I think it's good that we can debate these topics with respect for each other. We're all here to talk hair, right?... not fight amongst ourselves. I'd like to think we're all in this together.

My take on the debate is that genes are the way they are for a reason, and any tampering is asking for trouble. I did some more research into L'Oreal's pill, and it turns out it's hormonal. Props to the poster who mentioned the BC pill. I guess there are hormones that act on the hair follicle, and changing the way they behave, would change hair texture. No hormones for me, thanks.

I think as Ms. Coco Face said, this stuff would fly off the shelves a la Viagra - the hottest new toy. I'm not sure how many people would see it as changing something intrinsic to their character, but as a hairstyling thing. Not the ladies of LHCF, though

It brings Gattaca to mind - one of my fave movies - but a scary version of the future. Human beings born naturally are seen as inferior to those who have been genetically engineered and without flaw. The clincher of the story is that there's no such thing.

I think genetic engineering/eugenics raises important questions about what we value as a society and what our future holds.

 

[keepithealthy]

NO! NO! No! wow!

This is highly disturbing to me

My hair is not a problem that needs to resolved with a pill, I'd never take that.

I can seriously see black women buying this in droves.....just sad.

This is so sad because you are probably right Who knows what kind of s/t or l/t effects that will have on the human body....nope I'll pass.

 

[poookie]

I feel you poookie & mbib0002 maybe I came off a bit brash.....I just really think its sad that so many sista's have such an inferiority compex about our hair, I guess I just funneled all the frustration into that one post ...

No worries ...I do not feel guilty of anything lol.
I know my history as well as others here, and I don't see how anyone can deduct my supposed self hatred or ignorance from what I said?
Anyway, this not even about relaxers. I am just about CHOICE, and not judging others based on one's vision of the world.
All this is said respectfully on my part. And I totally agree to disagree, no problem at all.

glad there were no misunderstandings!

 

[30something]

What about the same pill.. the difference is that it would make your hair super strong and more resistant to breakage

Wonder how many people would take that

I can see people taking that pill out of frustration.

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

^ That sounds like an awesome non-controversial pill to me! who doesnt want stronger more resilient hair? I think you can get that with an impeccably healthy diet and vitamins though

 

[Ton 太太]

................

 

[poookie]

i wonder... say a natural 4b began to take this. her new growth would begin to come in straight, & she'd eventually have to BC to have a uniform texture.

transitioners are aware of the eventual BC, but non-hair focused people?

i wonder if women knew they'd eventually have to cut their hair, they'd be as willing to take it :scratchch

 

[30something]

^ That sounds like an awesome non-controversial pill to me! who doesnt want stronger more resilient hair? I think you can get that with an impeccably healthy diet and vitamins though

I'm not sure if I notice a difference in my pillserplexed
Guess its hard to tell

Id take that pill if there wasn't some weird DNA changing thing attached to it

 

[Optimus_Prime]

Yep, L'oreal has had this pill for years, just hasn't released it.

I read years ago (I used to be president of the african studies club at school) in some research I was doing on French colonialism in Africa. L'oreal wasn't mentioned, but it said that french scientists/laboratories were working on a pill to "cure blackness" that supposedly would "correct" stereotypically black skin and hair from at least the 1950's. I swear to G*d.

Why is it that when you make comparisons to kinky hair you associate it to undesireable things like lack of grooming oneself and skin disorders like acne? Why are these the first things that come to mind when you refer to your natural hair?

You're proving the point you take such offense to with the comparisons made in this post.

You know that there are places where no one gives a damn about women's armpit and leg hair, right? And long nails (Coco from SWV, curling, winding long nails) were desirable and showed that one belonged to the most elite leisure class.

well because to me kinky hair is indesirable. I have not problem with admitting that. You think hairy armpits is indesirable to everyone on the planet? not so. It is a cultural thing.

So do I. Oh well. I don't like straight hair and I don't like kinky hair either. Curls, ringlets, and waves are the height of beautiful hair to me.
I won't name anyone, but if I followed some people to their other posts, I'd have examples of how they STRUGGLE with their hair and are constantly trying all sorts of new, crazy, unconventional things (but not pills, of course) to achieve their hair goals (because the hair they have, whether they're natural or not, is not their ideal hair all on it's own).

We got chicks putting embalming fluid on their heads and bragging about it. Why would anyone be shocked by someone taking something that has been approved by the FDA?

And I swear by sodium hydroxide. I won't deny it.

It is a shame that non-straight hair is regarded, by the makers of this pill and a few billion other people as a defect to be removed from the gene pool. It reminds me of the song "nothing can change the shape of things to come". This is what it has culminated in - racism, colonialism, nazism, facism, cultural hegemony, racial and phenotypical hierarchies.
It is a disgrace what has become of God's once-green earth...
but unless you've got spacecraft and open invitations to other, better worlds, you live here, you'll have to deal with the state of things here, and so will any children you give birth to someday.

 

[NuBraveHeart]

i'm trying to figure out where in the text in the post said that the PILL altered genes. it didn't. it talked about changing genetics before birth, and then a pill that could alter hair currently. you cannot alter genetics with a pill; you've already been born and your genes are already set. so, this pill would alter hair the way aspirin or ibuprofen alters headaches, or probiotics alter the acidity of your stomach enzymes, by targeting receptors or nerves or whatever ALREADY in your body. so, let's get that clear first.

This is highly disturbing to me My hair is not a problem that needs to resolved with a pill, I'd never take that. I can seriously see black women buying this in droves.....just sad.

Sounds to me like a page out of a Nazi experiment. ... Let's get rid of all the curly hair people... Only straight haired people are good.

Why mess with your baby's genes? That doesn't even make sense.

People will go to the weirdest extremes for the sake of vanity. This stuff reminds me of Latisse.

huh? where are you getting this from? they create a pill for straighter hair and all of a sudden it's a holocaust? seriously? i'm in agreement with the ladies that question why taking this pill would have to indicate self-hatred. i love myself, but i could definitely go for less kinky hair. just like i love myself, but i could definitely go for thinner thighs; so what. i'd take the pill, and wouldn't really care if people accused me of self hate. i think that's preposterous. i don't think it's unhealthy to change something about yourself, as long as you aren't obsessed with not being who you are. that's a disorder all on its own.

Ladies, FYI: I bet they weren't creating this pill with this in mind: "many black people don't like their kinky/coily hair- why not make a pill for "them" to hate themselves even more". I think many curly whites, indians, etc will definitely jump on this pill if it were manufactured. We are not the only ones with hair issues. (considering the extreme lengths "others" go to get straightbhair: japanese straightening, BKT, every-night-blow drying etc.)

yep yep. LHCF is not the only hair care forum. i know each person has an opinion and i respect it, but i suppose i'm just having a hard time understanding the arguments that support them. the assumption that people wanting to alter something about their appearance signifies some inner turmoil, or that you are some judas to your culture or what god gave you... that's reachin.

 

[BeetleBug]

So this is a good hair pill, interesting. ha

 

[mbib0002]

I am not supporting the pill, I just don't like it when people are quick to say someone has no self love if they don't do x, y, z. We can't dictate how people live their lives. What's cute in one person's eyes doesn't have to be for another person: otherwise we won't 'shake our heads' when we see someone wearing something crazy and walking around like they are the ish....
that said, although taking a pill to get straight hair sounds a lil extreme to me, i'll do it if I prefer wearing my hair straight all the time. Then, I won't have to deal with flat irons and reversion. THIS DOESN'T MEAN I HATE MYSELF, IT JUST MEANS I LOVE WEARING MY HAIR STRAIGHT THAN CURLY, and I like how it looks on ME. PERIOD.

By the way, I'm not a big fan of straight hair most of the time.... I have this dream of wearing HUGE hair that's all mine, that's why I frequent LHCF.

 

[Neith]

So do I. Oh well. I don't like straight hair and I don't like kinky hair either. Curls, ringlets, and waves are the height of beautiful hair to me.
I won't name anyone, but if I followed some people to their other posts, I'd have examples of how they STRUGGLE with their hair and are constantly trying all sorts of new, crazy, unconventional things (but not pills, of course) to achieve their hair goals (because the hair they have, whether they're natural or not, is not their ideal hair all on it's own).

The bolded made me lol!

I do try a lot of things!

I don't do things that I think are may affect my overall health VERY negatively though. Messing with genes, especially with a newer medication scares the hell out of me. Getting a relaxer would be a walk in the park for me compared to taking that kind of pill. erplexed

I like this site (and others) because of all the INFORMATION. I swear, I soak it up like a sponge. The other day my bf was like... "You're looking at organic chemistry?!?" because I was doing some research on some ingredients. I love to learn and experiment!

I could have healthy and pretty hair without all the "crazy stuff" - but I want to really understand and optimize the health of my hair. What can I say? It's a hobby. lol

 

[cupcakes]

Im scared of all new vaccines. Theres no way in hell I would take this pill. Next thing you know it has sum ingredient in it to kill off all the black people, because they know many black women will be lined up in droves for it

 

[toinette]

Im scared of all new vaccines. Theres no way in hell I would take this pill. Next thing you know it has sum ingredient in it to kill off all the black people, because they know many black women will be lined up in droves for it

omg is that Teyana Taylor in your siggy? she looks gorgeous!!!!

 

[cupcakes]

^ yea thats her. Lovely pic isnt it?

 

[afrodeutsche]

I read years ago (I used to be president of the african studies club at school) in some research I was doing on French colonialism in Africa. L'oreal wasn't mentioned, but it said that french scientists/laboratories were working on a pill to "cure blackness" that supposedly would "correct" stereotypically black skin and hair from at least the 1950's. I swear to G*d.

Why does that not surprise me?

huh? where are you getting this from? they create a pill for straighter hair and all of a sudden it's a holocaust? seriously?

I would suggest that you look more into the Nazi regime before speaking on this.

The reason why I call it a 'Nazi experiment' is because curly hair was an undesirable physical trait during the Nazi regime and they used it amongst other things to identify Jewish people. Some Jewish people straightened their hair to try to evade the Nazis. An excerpt out of an anti-Semitic children's book called 'How to Tell a Jew': "Their hair is usually dark and often curly like a Negro's." I wouldn't suggest reading it. It's very upsetting.

So when we talk about altering babies' genes to obtain straight hair or swallow weird pills so that our hair is flowing and straight, I call that a 'Nazi experiment' and I have no shame in doing so.

My apologies if I stepped on anyone's toes.

I fairly don't care what grown ups do with their hair, but sometimes I really wonder to what lengths vanity carries people.

 

[sunshinelady]

Peep it, from 2005: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=1325274

 

[BostonMaria]

I personally wouldn't do it. I like the versatility of my hair, plus I didn't transition for almost a year just to take a pill and reverse it all. What if you don't like the results? How do you "unchange" your DNA?

Oh Lord I can see the challenges and threads now LOL

 

[inspiration150]

To me this just fosters the concept that certain hair is better than others. Which is crap. A bunch of people out there trying to make the "perfect" race. I chose c.